Installation for subjecting substances packaged in flexible packets to high pressure treatment

ABSTRACT

The installation, which includes a tubular enclosure, is provided with a plugging device at each end, each plugging device including a moving assembly that can be displaced perpendicularly to the axis Δ of the enclosure. The moving assembly includes a plug of the stopper type provided with a seal, a spacer provided with a pull rod a drawer and a plugging body. The moving assembly is slidably mounted in a force take-up member. Via co-operation between sloping ramps carried by the plug and complementary sloping grooves in the drawer, the transverse displacement of the drawer causes the plug to be displaced axially.

The present invention relates to an installation for subjectingsubstances packaged in flexible packets to high pressure treatment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Particularly but not exclusively, the invention may be applied to foodsubstances. It is known that subjecting food substances to very highpressures, in the range 2,000 bars to 10,000 bars is developingextensively.

Such an installation constitutes an autoclave which essentiallycomprises a tubular enclosure closed at each of its ends by a respectiveplugging device.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide such an installation thatincludes plugging devices enabling fast opening and closing to beeffected.

To this end, the invention provides an installation for subjectingsubstances packaged in flexible packets to high pressure treatment, theinstallation including a tubular enclosure of axis Δ that is providedwith a plugging device at each of its ends, wherein each of saidplugging devices includes a moving assembly that can be displaced in atransverse direction γ that is perpendicular to the axis Δ, said movingassembly being supported by a force take-up member in which it can slidebetween two abutment end positions, said plugging device including aplug of the stopper type including a male portion which is provided witha seal, and which penetrates into the bore in the tubular enclosure, theplug being axially displaced by co-operating with a drawer via a set oframps and sloping grooves, said drawer being mounted to slide in saidtransverse direction γ between two stop positions on a plugging bodywhich is itself slidably mounted in said force take-up member, the endposition in one direction of said drawer and of said plugging bodyguaranteeing that the enclosure is fully open with the plug being bothaxially and transversely disengaged from the bore in the tubularenclosure, an association of orifices further guaranteeing, in that endposition, an unobstructed axial passage to the bore in the tubularenclosure.

According to another characteristic, said plug is provided with a stemwhich penetrates into an orifice in said plugging body.

According to another characteristic, when the plugging device is in theclosed position, a spacer is disposed between said plug and saidplugging body.

In a particular embodiment, the spacer is provided with a pull rod viawhich to apply traction in said transverse direction γ, such tractionbeing applied to said rod causing the spacer to be disengaged by beingdisplaced until it comes into abutment against one end of said drawer,whereupon, with the movement being continued, it drives the drawer withit until the drawer comes into abutment against a stop on the pluggingbody, whereupon the plugging body is displaced to the final openposition in which it abuts against the force take-up member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an installation of the invention forsubjecting substances packaged in flexible packets to high pressuretreatment;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a plugging device,one of which is disposed at each end of the installation shown in FIG.1, in which the plugging devices are referenced 2;

FIG. 3 is an axial section view of a plugging device as shown in FIG. 2,in the closed position.

FIG. 3A shows detail A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is an axial section view of a plugging device in a position inwhich the spacer of the plug is disengaged and comes into abutmentagainst one end of the drawer.

FIG. 5 is an axial section view of the plugging device in a position inwhich the drawer comes into abutment against a stop on the pluggingbody, the plug being axially disengaged from the bore in the tubularenclosure;

FIG. 6 is an axial section view of the plugging device in the fully-openposition, the plug being disengaged transversely from axis Δ of thetubular enclosure, and an association of orifices providing anunobstructed axial passage to the bore in the tubular enclosure;

FIG. 7 is a half-section view on VII--VII of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a variant of the force take-upmember that supports a plugging device in an installation of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows an installation for subjecting substances packaged inflexible packets to high pressure treatment.

The installation essentially comprises a tubular enclosure 1 of axis Δthat is provided with a plugging device 2 at each of its ends.

The installation rests in a sloping position on supports 3 and 4enabling flexible packets 5 containing the substances that are to besubjected to high pressure treatment to be loaded and unloaded merely bygravity respectively on a loading ramp 6 and on an unloading ramp 7.

The enclosure is filled with water while the packets are being loaded.

Once the enclosure has been closed, the high pressure treatment isperformed by the water that has been fed into the enclosure.

A plugging device such as 2 is described below with reference to FIGS.2, 3, and 7.

The device includes a moving assembly 8 supported in a yoke 9 screwedonto the end of the tubular enclosure 1. The yoke 9 constitutes a forcetake-up member in which the moving assembly is mounted to slide betweentwo end positions limited by abutments 10, the assembly 8 beingdisplaced in a transverse direction γ that is perpendicular to axis Δ.

The moving assembly 8 comprises a plug 11, a spacer 12 provided with apull rod 13, a drawer 14, and a plugging body 15.

The plug 11 is of the stopper type including a male portion 16 which isprovided with an O-ring seal 17, and which penetrates into the bore 18in the tubular enclosure 1. FIG. 3A, showing the detail referenced A inFIG. 3, shows that the plug 11 is also provided with an anti-extrusionring 19. The plug 11 is provided with a set of side ramps 20 whichco-operate with complementary sloping grooves 21 (FIG. 7) provided inthe drawer 14 that is slidably mounted on the plugging body 15.

The plug 11 is provided with a stem 22 which penetrates into an orifice23 in the plugging body 15 for guiding the plug in axial displacementalong axis Δ. The axial displacement of the plug 11 is caused by thedrawer 14 sliding in the transverse direction γ by means of the movementbeing transformed by the ramps and grooves 20, 21 co-operating with oneanother. The sliding stroke of the drawer 14 on the plugging body 15 islimited between two end stop positions by the front and rear faces 24and 25 of the drawer 14 abutting against the end faces 26 and 27 of aT-shaped section member 28 for guiding the drawer, which member is partof the plugging body 15.

The spacer 12 is a spacer in the form of a fork having two prongsflanking the stem 22 of the plug, and it is situated between the plugand the plugging body 15. The spacer is mounted to slide in the drawer14 between two end positions delimited by the rear face 25 of the drawer14 and by an inside face 29 thereof. The drawer 14 is further providedwith a hole 30, and the plugging body 15 is further provided with a hole31, which holes coincide with the bore 18 in the enclosure 1 when theplugging device is in the open position as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 3 shows the plugging device in the closed position. The spacer 12is situated under the plug 11 which penetrates into the bore 18 in theenclosure 1, the drawer 14 abuts leftwards against the right end face 27of the T-shaped section member 28 of the plugging body 15, and theplugging body also abuts leftwards via abutment 10 against the yoke 9.

To open the enclosure, firstly the spacer 12 is displaced rightwards bypulling on the rod 13, until the spacer abuts against face 25 of thedrawer 14. This position is shown in FIG. 4. By continuing to pullrightwards on the rod 13, the drawer 14 is then displaced, and this, bymeans of the ramps and grooves 20, 21, causes the plug 11 to descendaxially. Once the plug 11 has come into abutment against the pluggingbody 15, it has become axially disengaged from the bore 18 in theenclosure 1, and the drawer abuts rightwards against the left face 26 ofthe T-shaped section member 28 of the plugging body 15. This position isshown in FIG. 5. The holes 30 and 31 in the drawer 14, and in theplugging body 15 then coincide. By continuing the movement, the pluggingbody is then driven rightwards until it abuts against the yoke 9 via itsleft abutment 10. This position is shown in FIG. 6, in which the tubularenclosure 1 is open, with the plug 11 being offset transversely, and therespective holes 30 and 31 in the yoke and in the plugging body coincidewith the bore 18 in the enclosure, thereby providing an unobstructedpassage through which to feed in the substances to be treated that arepackaged in flexible packets 5, or enabling them to be unloaded,depending on whether the plugging device 2 is on the left or on theright of the installation as shown in FIG. 1.

In this way, the enclosure is opened by applying a single tractionmovement to the rod 13. However, for closure, it is necessary to act inthe opposite direction successively firstly on the plugging body 15,then on the drawer 14, and finally on the fork-shaped spacer 12.

In its plugging body 15, the top plugging device 2 (situated on theright of the installation as shown in FIG. 1) is provided with anorifice 32 for feeding in water. This orifice is shown in FIG. 6. Onceit has been closed at both of its ends, the enclosure is pressurized viaa pipe 33 opening into a channel 34 in the plug 11. This pressurizationfacility may be installed either on the top plugging device, or on thebottom plugging device.

FIG. 8 shows a variant embodiment in which the force take-up member forthe moving assembly 8 of the plugging device is not constituted by ayoke screwed onto the enclosure, but rather by a frame which surroundsthe assembly formed by the enclosure and by both of the pluggingdevices. It essentially comprises two thick sheet metal strips 35 and 36situated on either side of the enclosure 1, and provided with openings37, 38 through which the moving assemblies 8 can pass, the strips beinginterconnected by bars 39. Screws such as 40 are used to support theenclosure 1.

The entire installation may be either sloping, as shown in FIG. 1, orelse vertical.

We claim:
 1. An installation for subjecting substances packaged inflexible packets to high pressure treatment, the installation comprisinga tubular enclosure and means for introducing a fluid under pressureinto said enclosure, said enclosure having an axis Δ that is providedwith a plugging device at each of its ends, wherein each of saidplugging devices includes a moving assembly that can be displaced in atransverse direction γ that is perpendicular to axis Δ, said movingassembly being supported by a force take-up member in which it can slidebetween two abutment end positions, said moving assembly including aplug including a male portion which is provided with a seal, and whichpenetrates into a bore in the tubular enclosure, the plug being axiallydisplaced by co-operating with a drawer via a set of ramps and slopinggrooves, said drawer being mounted to slide in said transverse directionγ between two stop positions on a plugging body which is itself slidablymounted in said force take-up member, the end position in one directionof said drawer and of said plugging body constituting an open positionand guaranteeing that the enclosure is fully open with the plug beingboth axially and transversely disengaged from the bore in the tubularenclosure, an association of orifices in said plugging body and drawerfurther guaranteeing, in that end position, an unobstructed axialpassage to the bore in the tubular enclosure.
 2. An installationaccording to claim 1, wherein said plug is provided with a stem whichpenetrates into an orifice in said plugging body.
 3. An installationaccording to claim 1, wherein the end position in a second direction ofsaid drawer and of said plugging body constitutes a closed positionwherein a spacer is disposed between said plug and said plugging body.4. An installation according to claim 3, wherein said spacer is providedwith a pull rod via which to apply traction in said transverse directionγ, such traction being applied to said rod causing the spacer to bedisengaged by being displaced until it comes into abutment against oneend of said drawer, whereupon, with the movement being continued, itdrives the drawer with it until the drawer comes into abutment against astop on the plugging body, whereupon the plugging body is displaced tothe final open position in which it abuts against the force take-upmember.
 5. An installation according to claim 1, wherein said forcetake-up member is a yoke screwed onto one of said ends of said tubularenclosure.
 6. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said forcetake-up member is constituted by a frame surrounding the tubularenclosure over its entire length, and over its plugging devices.